Gladstone’s manufacturing community has come together to celebrate the critical role women are playing in local businesses.
Minister for Regional Development and Manufacturing and Member for Gladstone Glenn Butcher said the annual Women in Manufacturing (WIM) events are playing a role in the rise in females taking up jobs in the industry.
“Manufacturing contributes more than $20 billion a year to the Queensland economy and provides thousands of good jobs, contributing to better services in this great state,” he said.
“Across Queensland, we are seeing more women becoming part of the manufacturing workforce including in traditionally male dominated roles on factory floors.
“This rise in female recruitment is fantastic to see because it means more women are feeling confident about choosing a career in manufacturing.
“The speakers presenting at this morning’s breakfast are helping break down the stereotype that this is a men-only field and showing women should choose a career in this sector if they want to.
“With the introduction of advanced manufacturing technologies and processes, the opportunities for women in this industry are increasing all the time.”
The WIM events, which are held across the state, are designed to be an opportunity for women to connect with others who work in manufacturing and to share their experiences about opportunities in the sector, challenges they’ve faced and how they’ve overcome them.
“We’ve seen some amazing stories shared over the past five years,” Minister Butcher said.
“A large Brisbane steel manufacturer told us about their successful recruitment strategy in 2016 that resulted in the female participation in their workforce rising by 54 per cent. There’s no reason we can’t see those numbers at manufacturing businesses here in Gladstone and it’s initiatives like this that will help people share that knowledge.”
The Women in Manufacturing series is delivered in partnership with Ai Group.
Ai Group spokesperson Mel Ireland said: “These events are always a lot of fun, but they have a serious side too because they’re an opportunity for women to get together and to talk about the, sometimes, unique challenges that women face in forging a career in manufacturing. It can be seen as an unconventional choice sometimes,” she said.
Panellists at the Gladstone event included:
- Andrea Smith, Branch Manager at Komatsu Australia
- Lesley Brice, General Manager of Operations at Rio Tinto (Boyne Smelters Limited)
- Kira O’Connor, a first year apprentice boilermaker at Walz Group
- Tiffany Vinten, a third year apprentice boilermaker at Walz Group
“This event isn’t only for women. It’s also for those men who either want to support their colleagues better, or employers who want to create a more inclusive work environment, or anyone who wants to support someone they know considering a career in manufacturing,” Ms Ireland said.
Since May 2018, there have been 34 Women in Manufacturing events attended by almost 2100 people across Queensland.
